Bishop Amat senior pitcher Andrew Eppenbach had just finished one of his best games of the season, a complete-game 7-3 victory over Bishop Montgomery on April 11. He allowed just two hits and not a single earned run.

About an hour later, his father Jim Eppenbach pulled into their driveway at home and immediately knew something was wrong.

Jim or his wife Marlene usually would drive Andrew home after a game, but it was a busy day and they drove their own cars to school. So did Andrew.

When Jim arrived home, one car was missing.

“It was so frightening,” Jim Eppenbach said. “I get home and my wife’s standing on the porch with the phone in her hand and a look on her face. I said, ‘Oh my God.’ You get that total sinking feeling that something’s gone horribly wrong.”

According to Jim, Andrew was driving home on Cameron Avenue in West Covina when a driver apparently talking on a cell phone turned in front of Andrew and the cars collided nearly head-on. Andrew’s Ford Explorer struck a light post.

Fortunately, Andrew walked away with only a stiff neck, sore back and concussion.

Eppenbach, who signed a national letter of intent to attend San Diego State, has been forced to miss a few games since. But that’s the good news.

“It could have been a lot worse, the car was totalled,” Jim said. “You’re just so thankful he’s OK and that he will fully recover from this, but it was scary. For any parent, these are your worst types of fears.”

Bishop Amat coach Andy Nieto felt relief as well.

“Anytime you get a phone call like that it’s like they’re one of your kids,” Nieto said. “They’re an extension of your family, so the first thing you want to know is if he’s OK.

“He got banged up a little bit, but the good news is he was OK.”

Eppenbach tried pitching a couple games not long after the accident, but wasn’t himself. Finally, on Saturday, he had his best start since the accident in a 5-1 victory over West Torrance.

“He’s just now starting to feel better,” Jim said. “He still has some residual soreness, but he’s getting his velocity back and his confidence back. I know it’s been tough for him to watch his team struggle. He wants to be in that fight with them down (the stretch) and I think he’s nearing the point where he can.”

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This usually is the time of the season when the Bishop Amat baseball team is fighting for a Del Rey League title and getting ready for a long playoff run.

But that’s not the case after getting swept by St. Paul last week to fall to 13-11 and 3-3 in league. The Lancers are tied for third with the Swordsmen (12-14, 3-3) and behind leaders Serra (10-10, 5-1) and La Salle (14-11, 4-2) heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

Bishop Amat isn’t eliminated from title contention, but could find itself in playoff jeopardy if it doesn’t turn things around with a home-and-home series this week against second-place La Salle starting at Bishop Amat today at 3:15 p.m., followed by a game at La Salle on Friday.

Amat could have used Eppenbach in last week’s series against St. Paul, but he simply wasn’t ready. If he continues to feel better this week, he could get the nod on Friday at La Salle.

“Andrew threw really good (against West Torrance), he seemed to get stronger as the innings went on, which is important, and it was a win we needed coming off the losses to St. Paul,” Nieto said. “Right now a one-game winning streak feels good. We’ll see how he reacts and how his bullpen sessions go this week and if everything is fine, yeah, you’ll likely see him pitch this week.”

Getting Eppenbach back is crucial to Amat’s long-term playoff hopes, but Nieto knows if the Lancers have another bad week there might not be any postseason.

St. Paul plays a two-game series against league leader Serra this week.

“Obviously our backs are against the wall,” Nieto said. “This is uncharted water for us and we’ve got two big games coming up. We need to circle the wagons together. I think we lost some of our fight and some of our spirit last week.

“We need to commit ourselves to playing Bishop Amat baseball again. Whatever it takes for us to do that, we need to find it. The urgency is here.”